I have a problem with adding “extra” costs onto any purchase I make.
I’m not the person who signs up for extended warranties or forks over extra money for insurance; I would rather hold on to my money until the day comes that I have no option except to replace a broken item, than pay proactively for a day that may never come. I know this may not be the best way of doing things, but I’d rather hold on to a sure thing than gamble on a disaster. I recently learned, however, that some extra costs are truly necessary when you make a big purchase. We bought a new air conditioner about two years ago, and at the time we were offered a preventative maintenance service package which I promptly turned down. I couldn’t imagine adding an extra $100 to the expensive purchase we already made, and figured that we would pay for any AC repairs that came along in the future. Boy, was that a mistake. Last month the air conditioner failed and I had no choice but to call our HVAC professional for assistance. The repair was astronomical, but there was no option besides handing over the money so we could go back to using our central cooling system. Afterwards the HVAC technician let me know that this breakdown could have been avoided with proper preventative service, and recommended I sign up for their annual check up. For once in my life, I got over my aversion to paying proactively, and handed over the membership fees immediately.